Event: Dahlia Adler's Release Party for Behind the Scenes

So I went to Dahlia Adler's release party on June 23rd for her debut novel, Behind the Scenes, while most of my friends were at senior prom (not our prom, as we're juniors). Well, it turns out, I probably ended up having a better time than they did. :P

I didn't write down any of the questions and answers because I was too busy having a great time, and I was really paying attention to Dahlia's answers. But anyway, here's a recap of the event!

It was hosted at Books of Wonder in NYC, and I knew I had to go. Not only do I love Dahlia, but when I mentioned I could potentially go, she got really excited and said she'd love to meet me. Well, lucky, I wanted to meet her too. In the end, things worked out, and my parents allowed me to go!

I was super excited, and I got to Books of Wonder early because of how the train schedule worked out (and because I wanted to get a good seat). When I got to BoW, the first thing I did was obviously to buy Behind the Scenes. When I walked over to the event section of the store, I saw that I was really super early, as they were still setting up the table, decorations, and food. There were only a handful of other authors and/or bloggers there, so Dahlia spotted me right away.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I sort of was when Dahlia recognized me and said hi to me as soon as she saw me. She looked lovely, told me I did too, and she gave me a big hug. It felt so nice to be recognized by an awesome author. :D

Anyway, everyone that was there was introduced to one another, and I even met Dahlia's parents. Hahaha! They continued to set up for the event, and I kinda sat around. I talked to Dahlia a bit, but since I didn't really know anyone there, it was a bit awkward for a bit.

Then, a box of macarons arrived for Dahlia, and she invited those of us that were there to take one. I was hesitant since you know, they were for Dahlia, but she insisted. When I told her that I had never actually had one, she said, "now you definitely need to have one!" So I did, and I think she took a picture of me taking my first bite (after taking a while to actually choose one). It was pretty awesome, and we were both excited for that to have been the first time I ate a macaron. Thanks, Dahlia!

Soon, more people started arriving. I knew some of the bloggers there because they're pretty well-known in the blogosphere. I also saw Melissa Grey, who is a 2015 debut author that I actually met at a TFiOS event back in May. I knew she was going to be there, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone. She did leave to go talk to some other authors, but it was really nice to not feel so awkward since everyone seemed to know at least one or two other people, and I was just awkward. :P

Anyway, the event started soon after. Dahlia introduced her book, even though she was pretty sure everyone there knew about it because they know her. Then there was the Q&A. And then it was time to line up for the signing. I was so excited to get my book signed (obviously). As always, Dahlia was super nice and put up with my awkwardness. She also had everyone sign her copy of the book, which is pretty awesome!

Before I left, I also worked up the courage to chat with Lindsay Smith, author of Sekret. I knew through Twitter that she was going to be at the event, and I was fairly sure I spotted her. I'm really awkward and have social anxiety, but I figured it was either then or never since I couldn't make it to her (panel) event the next day. She recognized me from Twitter, which was another awesome surprise. And then she really put up with my awkwardness when I asked her if she'd sign my copy of Sekret because I couldn't make it the next day. Lindsay was super nice about the whole ordeal, even though it must have been soooo weird for her (sorry, Lindsay!).

All in all, I had a fabulous time, and I can't wait for the next time I'm able to go to a book launch because this set the bar fairly high! Thanks to Books of Wonder, Dahlia (+her family), and everyone else for making it super awesome. Definitely better than if I had been asked to prom. Though it's obvious it wasn't much competition anyway. ;)

Event Recap: Ransom Riggs at Barnes and Noble 1/25/14

Woot! Another event! Okay, so I was beyond excited for this event even though I haven't gotten around to reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children yet. Anyway, I did record the event and everything, but I don't have much time, so I'm sadly not going to recap it right now. What kind of a recap is this, then? Good question. I'm really sorry. I'd love to recap, but a) a lot of the questions were in relation to Miss Peregrine and the 3rd book and b) a lot of the questions were questions that I had seen in his FAQ. Of course we also briefly talked about the awesomeness that is his wife, Taherah Mafi, and half of us fangirled about her too. I was too shy to ask a question, but it was really fun, and Ransom is really funny (and tall). ;)

Anyway, here are some pictures! (By the way, we were facing a window, and it was snowing and bright, so.)

Yup, that's me with Ransom Riggs!

We got these awesome posters!

My signed books!

(I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of him signing my books, but while he was signing Miss Peregrine's, the Sharpie wasn't working well, so it was kinda funny, but that also explains why he didn't really sign his last name fully, as you can tell by the comparison.)

Well, there you have it! :D It was really awesome. hehe

Event Recap: Books of Wonder Signing 9/22/13

This is long overdue, but here's a quick recap of the Books of Wonder signing that I went to in September. It was my 2nd book signing ever and my first as a blogger. Needless to say, I was beyond excited.

So the author's present were Alex London, Robin Wasserman, Patrick Ness, and Gene Luen Yang.

Robin was running a bit late so it started about 15 minutes after it was supposed to. Robin explained how she had just flown back to NYC and how she had been up since 5:00 in the morning. The others, especially Patrick, teased her about it. They started by introducing themselves and explaining how they each got the idea for their books. Robin explained how she was freaking out over the fact that Patrick was there but also about how she had grown up reading a lot of horror. Alex talked about how the MC in Proxy just came out and how he never really intended to write a gay character. Gene talked about his Asian American roots, which I definitely relate to. Patrick talked about how he had always wanted to write something like More Than This but that it had never been the right time.

Then they answered some questions. I didn't write anything down and didn't have enough space on my iPod to record them, so I don't have that. (I am very sorry about this. I remember quite a bit of it, but I don't remember exact words or questions.) But they did talk about their writing habits and about writing advice. Robin talked about the word "influence," and how one of her professors had prohibited them from using the word. Patrick joked around a LOT. He's extremely entertaining and funny, and if you ever get the chance to see him, GO! Alex and Robin joked around about how Robin usually NEEDS a brownie at 2:00, but she wasn't able to get one because of her flight and then the signing, and Alex was eating a cookie. Gene was pretty quiet, but he's really nice (well, all of them are). All in all, there were just a lot of jokes, including some about Twilight and about how even though a lot of people don't see it that way, Stephanie Meyer wrote the book that she wanted to write (they were talking about advice and how you should write what you want to write about, not what others want you to write about). 

Really, it was just really fun, and they're all funny, kind, enjoyable authors. And of course, there was the signing itself. Patrick's line was HUGE, but I really excited to meet Robin. I also felt really bad because I didn't buy Proxy. :(

Anyway, here's some pictures from that.

(I was kind of hyperventilating b/c Robin is made of awesome. Also, I worked up the courage to tell her that I loved her picture with Zelda (on Maureen Johnson's twitter), but I was so nervous and excited to talk to her that I couldn't form a sentence very well. Also, I was really excited and nervous to meet her because I just learned that she had really bad scoliosis when she was younger, and as someone who has scoliosis, it's always nice to find someone that understands. (Which reminds me of a funny story Patrick told, but if you want to know about it, you'll have to ask me either in the comments or on Twitter.))

(Gene Luen Yang--He's an amazing drawer, and I got a signed poster too! Also, we talked a bit about being Asian American, which was cool.)

(Patrick Ness)

(Alex London (and Robin)--I still feel bad for not getting Proxy.)

I was originally going to take pictures of the signed books, but I haven't gotten around to it.

But here's a list of the books that I got:

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Boxers&Saints by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer (both of whom were supposed to be there but weren't able to make it; the book was signed though)

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller (free)

Sadly, I do not have a giveaway. Apologies!